Developing her business enough to take on an apprentice seemed a million miles away when Caroline O’Brien started her Rosemary Bookkeeping business back in 2012. But that is exactly where she is today and apprentice, Jasleen, is the asset to her business to help it grow further.

Caroline said: “Having Jasleen working with me has meant I can take on a lot more client work, meaning turnover has increased. I have also been able to delegate some admin work that allows me to time to concentrate on marketing/growth.”

In her three years running her Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise, Caroline understands what it takes to grow a successful business. She said: “It takes a lot of hard work and determination. You need to seek out as many networking opportunities as possible.”

To take it to the next step, employing Jasleen has made it a reality. It allows Caroline to be out and about networking to seek new business without neglecting her established workload.

Caroline explained: “Building up good relationships with local accountants and networking in your area is imperative, and knowing I have Jasleen back in the office working with my existing clients and the necessary admin allows me to do this.”

With this in mind, Caroline is looking ahead to the future and has great plans for her business in the next five years.

She says: “I want to have created a truly management style business where I am working on it and not in it. This will mean having a team around me whom I can trust. My time will be freed up to focus my effort on marketing so that the business can continue to grow and provide a source of work and income for myself and my team.”

Caroline admits she owes much of her success to the support she received from Rosemary Bookkeeping in the early days.

“Rosemary Bookkeeping’s training and support package is really well organised and relevant. My 12 week launch program was great because it involved a very structured program of activities, including weekly call ins from Head Office, webinars to watch, software training, networking suggestions, all sorts of activities to make sure that I was developing and marketing my business as fully as possible.”

So what would Caroline’s advice be to someone thinking of starting their own Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise? “In the early stages, I would advise as much networking as possible,” Caroline says. “Don’t give up too quickly if your current groups aren’t working for you. You need to attend a networking group consistently for six months to really get your name known. Talk to different people each time and there are lots of free events and training seminars available. These are great for learning and you also might meet some useful contacts.”

Employing an apprentice has benefits for both the company and individual as Caroline explains: “I love the idea of nurturing a young person and helping in their education and personal development. I know that Jasleen is getting a good grounding in bookkeeping and this will only be beneficial in her future career as well as helping my business to grow right now!”

The Rosemary Bookkeeping™ franchise responds to the increasing need in the UK for an affordable, professional bookkeeping service that supports both the client and the accountant. Franchise Partners work in harmony with their clients’ accountants, providing them with exactly what they need in the format they want saving their clients’ time and money.

The franchise is based on a business concept that has been established and refined since 2002, providing a unique bookkeeping system within a fully supported franchise package. Franchise Partners are able to obtain great flexibility and the potential for a superb work-life balance.

The franchise is backed by four successful entrepreneur business women, Lisa Curteis , Joanna Dennis , Claire Watson-Bardot, Sarah Carlile and who have over 60 years of business and bookkeeping experience between them. As an Associate Member of the bfa, Rosemary Bookkeeping has a proven ability to sustain a franchise network successfully.

Rosemary Bookkeeping has recently opened up more territory opportunities in the Midlands, North of England and South East. For more information please